Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Pope Benedict meets with Prince Albert II of Monaco

Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday met with Prince Albert II of Monaco, and his wife, Princess Charlene.

The meeting marked the 55th anniversary of the meeting of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco with Pope Pius XII in 1957. 

According to a communiqué from the Vatican Press Office, their talks focused on the significant contribution of the Catholic Church in the social life of the Principality and various international issues, such as the integral development of peoples and the protection of natural resources and the environment. 

The couple gave Pope Benedict a picture and book about their ancestor, Cardinal Jerome Grimaldi, who lived in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 

The Holy Father gave the prince and princess a sanguigna, or red pencil drawing, of St. Peter’s Basilica.